Shasta County joins lawsuit against opioid makers

Shasta County is joining other California counties in a lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors.

County officials making the announcement on Tuesday said the Board of Supervisors has retained Dallas-based Baron & Budd and a joint venture of law firms on a contingency basis to start the suit. There is no fee for the county if there is no recovery, officials said.

The counties represent about nine million California residents.

Local governments around the country have been filing similar lawsuits to hold drug makers and distributors responsible for the opioid epidemic. In California, 2,031 people died from an overdose in 2016. Seventeen were Shasta County residents.

"The county seeks to recover taxpayer funds used to respond to the opioid epidemic," County Counsel Rubin Cruse said in a statement.

According to the news release, the counties and their lawyers have evidence that many of the nation's largest drug manufacturers allegedly pushed highly addictive opioids and misrepresented the risks and benefits of these drugs.

The counties allege drug distributors Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and McKesson Corp. failed to monitor and report suspicious activity in the size and frequency of opioid shipments to pharmacies.

At least five other law firms are working with Baron & Budd and represent more than 300 cities and counties across the country.